As you all know, I’m an educator. I believe in education. I came from a family who deeply values it and thinks it’s one of the most important things in life. However, I have noticed that all our educational system does is program people to be robots who regurgitate information. We don’t teach people to think for themselves. And we certainly don’t want to hear their original voices. This is sad. I just had a conversation with one of my best students about this several days ago. He said how frustrating it is for him to just “report” on research without his voice being allowed anywhere in the paper. I agree with him. Whole-heartedly! I was frustrated by this as well when I was in graduate school. I remember when I wrote my doctoral dissertation, I opened a paragraph with a statement like, “Religion is a big part of the world’s history and many people’s lives.” (or something to that effect). And I remember my advisor putting a comment such as, “According to whom? Document your sources.” Even back then, I was thinking …. “WHAT?!!?!! Do I REALLY need to document that statement???? Isn’t it just common knowledge?” Apparently not. Well, yes, it is common knowledge. But I still had to go and track down someone else who said it … my voice was not sufficient. So I eventually found a random source to back me up before I was allowed to actually say it. Does anyone else find this strange? All these years later, I am still having this issue. Recently, I have been writing articles for a company that outsources them to different reputable websites. I thought it was cool at first because they have high standards. They didn’t accept just anyone to write for them, and you had only three shots to write an article, and if you get them rejected, then they drop you. It’s pretty cut-throat! Heck, it’s almost as hard as getting a scholarly article accepted in an academic journal (and that’s very hard!). I have had my Ph.D. for about 17 years (gosh, that makes me feel old!! I swear, I still feel 22!). And I have taught communication at the college level for almost 20 years (if you count the years of me being a T.A.). So I think most people would probably label me an “expert” in communication, right? And I was always under the silly assumption that once you finally claw your way out of graduate school, jump through every imaginable hoop there is, and cut every last inch of political red tape, that I would finally have the freedom to have my “expert” voice heard.

I was wrong.

Anyway, my point is this …They don’t want to hear my voice either. Have I taught interpersonal communication for over 20 years? Yep. Do I know the research and the basics like the back of my hand? Yep. I could write about communication in my sleep. But am I allowed to use my own knowledge in my articles without documenting how someone else said it and not me? No. Why doesn’t our culture allow people to think for themselves? Why are we not allowed our own voices? You would think having a Ph.D., published academic articles, consulting /training for businesses/schools, and over 20 years of teaching experience would have earned me the right to write with my own voice.Nope. Please keep in mind, this is not an ego thing. Anyone who knows me would tell you that I am not attached to the title of “Dr.” or the fact that I have a Ph.D. I really don’t care if my students call me “hey you” instead of “Dr. Morgan.” This is not about my ego. It’s about freedom of expression and the ability to think for yourself.So here’s what I want you to think about this week (pun intended) ... Where is YOUR voice not being heard? It doesn’t have to be in a college paper or in an article for a website or journal. It can be with your spouse, children, friends, co-workers, or boss. Where are YOU not allowed to speak your mind? Think about it. And figure out why it is that way. Can you change it? If you can, then CHANGE IT!! Speak up. Say what you need to say. You’re valuable. And your voice should be valued, too. All of ours should, not just us “experts.” #ohwaitexpertsarenotvaluedeither So go shout your voice from the mountaintops until you are HEARD!! You deserve it! I know I’ll be listening to you … :) Have a great week and thanks for reading my “voice!” I appreciate you! ******************************************************************************************************************************************

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I completely agree with you! As we have discussed, it is difficult to cite every piece of information in a paper. If I were to do that I would feel like my paper was not my own because it did not include my own thoughts within. Papers should be an extension and synthesis of student thought along with researched information not just a pile of citations!

Reply

Carol Morgan

12/14/2013 02:06:36 am

I very much agree, Veronica!! Yet it's sad because our educational system is set up so that even the teachers/professors are required to assign papers that don't allow much of the students' voices. But that doesn't mean we can't find many other ways to make our opinions known! :) Thanks for your comment and for reading :)